Tibolone and testosterone preserve cell morphology and mitochondrial content, respectively, in astrocytic cells under glucose deprivation.

One of the major milestones of our group was the discovery that tibolone, a synthetic steroid drug used by women to alleviate symptoms associated with menopause, has the ability to upregulate neuroglobin. Our group has previously reported that tibolone preserves mitochondrial membrane potential, reduces oxidative stress, and improves cell survival following metabolic dysfunction in glial cells. In fact, our previous studies have shown that tibolone has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-apoptotic properties, making it a promising candidate for repurposing in neurometabolic diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases. 

Tibolone exerts neuroprotective actions mediated by estrogen receptors (Del Río et al., 2020).

Neuroglobin is currently a major focus of our laboratory, given its significant therapeutic potential for protecting both neurons and astrocytes from traumatic brain damage. We employ various pharmacological approaches and therapies in cultured astrocytes, neurons, and microglia to induce neuroglobin for mitochondrial protection. Our primary objective now is to investigate the molecular mechanisms of neuroglobin signaling in both male and female cells.